The daouli (Turkish: davul) is a membranophone musical instrument used in Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern folk and popular music. Its size varies and it is made from goat or sheep skin, and in the past from wolf or donkey skin. The player (daouliéris or daoultsis) hangs it on his left shoulder and strikes it on the right side with the daouloxilo and on the left with a thinner stick, the verga. The sound produced on the right side is heavier and on the left side sharper.
Morphology
The daouli is a large wooden, cylindrical bass drum, which resembles the shell of a drum. Skins are placed on its two bases, joined together and stretched with cords. Depending on the traditions prevailing in different regions of Greece, they come in various sizes: from 25 cm to 1 m in diameter and from 20 cm to 60 cm in height. In eastern Crete, for example, the drums are often smaller, with two gut strings stretched across the leather surfaces to add sharpness and a distinctive tone to the sound.
On the islands, the small drum that accompanies the tsambouna or violin is called a toumpi and is played held under the armpit or on the left thigh, with the performer always striking one leather surface with two identical sticks, the toumboxyla.
In Messolonghi, there is a small daouli (called xerondaoulo), mainly found at the festival of Agios Symeon.
The daouli is tuned by tightening (tezarismo) of its ropes, so that it achieves approximately the same tone as the zurna or lyre that accompanies it, thus producing not only the rhythm but also a kind of isokratema. The rods, commonly known as vitses, vary in thickness and height, as well as in material. The thicker a stick is, the more bass sound it will produce. The kopanos, or kopalia, vary in size and thickness according to the wishes of the player.
Over time, drums began to take shape due to the demands of drummers/drum makers. The membranes that are most often used are plastic, because they are easier to use, more durable, and do not require much care, unlike leather membranes.
History
The daouli was already known in Byzantine times and was used as a war instrument, which encouraged the fighters and created panic among the enemy.
It is particularly common in areas such as Thrace, Macedonia, Crete, and Pontus.
The daouli is also used in various combinations, which over time have become established as musical ensembles.
Traditional uses
These drums are commonly used in traditional music in Iran and Turkey, as well as in Romania, Bulgaria, parts of Greece and Serbia, Iraq, and Armenia. These drums have both a deep, bass sound and a thin, treble sound due to their construction and playing technique, where different membranes and woods are used to produce different sounds on the same instrument.
In Armenia, the dol does not have such a large circumference and is usually played with the hands, although a spoon-shaped stick can also be used. It is often heard in traditional Armenian music, but also in modern music, even making solo improvisations in many well-known songs.
In the southern Balkans, the rhythm of the tapán (i.e., the daouli) is complex and uses many accents in numerous traditional timings, while in Bulgaria they usually accompany the gaida and the gadulka. They are also played solo in some Bulgarian and traditional songs and dances.
In Romania and Moldova, the tombac is sometimes used to accompany dances. In the Maramures and Bihor regions of Moldova, there are variations with a small cymbal attached to the top. In general, they are struck with a mallet on one skin and with a thinner stick on the edge of the skin or on the cymbal.
Construction
The shell of the drum is made of hard wood, perhaps walnut or oak, although many types of wood can be used depending on the region where the drum is made. To make the shell, the wood is boiled in water to make it bendable, then bent into a cylindrical shape and tied together. The membranes are usually goat skin, and are formed into circles with wooden circular frames. However, one membrane may be goatskin to provide a higher tone, while the other membrane may be sheepskin, calfskin, or even donkey skin to provide a lower tone.
Some say that wolf or even dog skin is preferred. Along the length of the drum shell, rope tied from one side to the other in a zigzag pattern holds the skins in place and provides the tension needed to tune the drum. Sometimes metal rings or leather straps join nearby pieces of rope to provide further tension. Two rings are attached to the rope, through which a belt-shaped rope is passed to hang the drum.
In Greece, the daouli can be 30-35 centimeters for the toubi and up to 90-120 centimeters for the daouli (Pontus – Macedonia).Usually, the drum is between 50-75 centimeters.
How to play
Musicians usually use a rope attached to the drum to hang it sideways, so that one membrane is accessible with the left hand and the other with the right. Each hand usually plays exclusively on one side, although this may vary depending on local playing style and tradition.
The players of this drum use two types of sticks. The musician strikes the accented beats with the dominant hand on one side of the drum with the thicker stick known as a kukunda or okan, in Turkish as tokmak and in Greek as daouloxylo. This stick is a thick tubular piece about 440 mm long, often made of walnut. Its thick shape and the thickness of the membrane give the accented beats a low, full sound. Sometimes the membrane played with the thick stick can be muffled with a piece of cloth to enhance the dominant low sound of the drum. Unaccented beats are played by the non-dominant hand on the side of the drum with the thin skin, using a thin stick or rod, called a pratska , tsumbuk in Turkish, or dauloverga in Greek. This thin stick is often held along the handle, and the drummer can make quick, thin beats by gently twisting the wrist. These thin sticks are usually made of soft wood, such as willow or poplar.
The Balkan school of tapan accepts the playing (not the accompaniment) of a melody, where the non-dominant hand is used to express everything the instrumentalist wants to say, while the dominant hand is used only to emphasize specific moments in the melody.
words from tradition
